Utilization of primary care physicians in borderline personality.

OBJECTIVE

Individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) consistently demonstrate high patterns of utilization in both mental health and non-psychiatric settings. However, utilization of primary care physicians by these individuals has not been examined. In this study, we examined physician use patterns and hypothesized that primary care outpatients with BPD features would evidence higher numbers of primary care physicians seen, primary care treatment settings experienced, and specialists seen.

METHOD

Using a cross-sectional consecutive sample of 389 internal medicine outpatients and a self-report survey methodology, we examined the number of primary care physicians seen, primary care treatment settings experienced, and specialists seen by participants during the past 5 years in relationship to two self-report measures for BPD, the BPD scale of the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-4 and the Self-Harm Inventory.

RESULTS

There were statistically significant between-group differences in the number of primary care physicians and specialists seen (not the number of primary care treatment settings) over 5 years, and BPD status according to both measures of BPD, with BPD patients reporting higher rates.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with borderline personality symptomatology appear to see a greater number of primary care physicians and specialists than patients without these Axis II symptoms. These findings may reflect the underlying psychological processes of the disorder as well as a general pattern of over-utilization of healthcare services by these types of patients.